About the only good pieces of news in the latest Report On Jobs from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation and KPMG, is that during March the rate of decline in the number of permanent and temporary appointments slowed to its lowest level for several months – and that the fall in the number of temporary and permanent vacancies being placed with recruitment agencies also slowed down.

With more people looking for work and fewer job opportunities, starting salaries and hourly pay rates for temporary and contract staff continued to fall.

Commenting on the report, Mike Stevens, of KPMG said:

“While some observers might see small upticks in all these indicators as evidence of green shoots of recovery, the reality is that the availability of permanent and temporary jobs in the UK continues to decline, salaries are being reduced and the pool of available candidates is rising further.

“These latest figures leave no doubt that the UK jobs market is at its worst in the 11 year history of the survey and recovery might take longer and be more protracted than many hope.”